> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://snagitpro.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How to Screenshot on a Microsoft Surface: Pro, Laptop, Go and Studio - URL: https://snagitpro.com/how-to-screenshot-on-surface/ - Published: 2026-10-13T05:43:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-22T20:45:53.000Z - Description: The shortcut that works on your Surface, why Power + Volume Up does nothing on a Surface Laptop, what to press without a PrtScn key, and where each capture is saved. - Author: Adrian Foster - Tags: Guides, Windows, Captures To screenshot on a Microsoft Surface, press **Windows + Shift + S**, or the **Snipping key** if your keyboard has one, and drag over what you want. To save the whole screen as a file in **Pictures → Screenshots**, press **Windows + PrtScn** or **Windows + Snipping key**. With no keyboard attached, hold **Power** and press **Volume Up** on a Surface Pro, Go or Book. That button trick doesn't work on a Surface Laptop, so Laptop owners stay on the keyboard. [Download](https://dropload.surf/c/DluzdtzerFlT?ref=snagitpro.com) Most guides stop there, and that's where the confusion starts. Surface keyboards have changed a lot over the years. Older Type Covers have a PrtScn key, the newer Pro keyboards added a Snipping key, and on the Surface Laptop (7th Edition) owners have asked Microsoft's forum where Print Screen went. So I'll go in the order that settles it fastest: your device, then your keyboard, then where the file ended up. ## Which Surface do you have? Find your device in the first column. If you're not sure which model you own, the **Surface** app shows it, and the label on the kickstand or underside usually does too. | Your Surface | Fastest screenshot | Good to know | | ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Surface Pro or Surface Go with a keyboard | Windows + Shift + S, or the Snipping key | Windows + PrtScn or Windows + Snipping key saves a file instead | | Surface Pro, Go or Book used as a tablet | Hold Power, then press Volume Up | The file goes to Pictures → Screenshots | | Surface Laptop | Windows + Shift + S | Power + Volume Up doesn't work on a Surface Laptop | | Surface Studio | Windows + Shift + S, or the screenshot key on the Surface Keyboard | The Surface Keyboard comes with Surface Studio 2+ | | Surface 3 or Surface Pro 3 as a tablet | Windows button on the front + Volume Down | These models have a Windows button on the screen bezel | | Any Surface: record the screen | Windows + Shift + R | Select Stop; the video goes to Videos → Screen Recordings | | Surface Duo or Duo 2 | Hold Volume Down + Power together | These run Android; look in the Screenshots folder of Photos or Google Photos | ![Chart titled Which Surface do you have? with three columns: a tablet on its kickstand for Pro, Go and Book used as a tablet, labeled Hold Power + press Volume Up; a laptop for Surface Laptop or Studio, labeled Win + Shift + S or Snipping key; an older tablet with a Windows button on the bezel for Surface 3 and Surface Pro 3, labeled Windows button + Volume Down; a strip along the bottom reads With a keyboard: Win + PrtScn or Win + Snipping key, with an arrow to Pictures > Screenshots](https://storage.ghost.io/c/32/ae/32ae67dc-03a1-4a24-abcb-b731d79fd904/content/images/2026/10/surface-which-model-1.webp) Pick your Surface first. If your keyboard has PrtScn or a Snipping key, press it with Windows to save a file to Pictures → Screenshots. The current combinations, including the Surface Laptop exception and the Duo buttons, are on Microsoft's page about [taking a screenshot or recording your screen on Surface](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/accessories/cover-keyboard/take-a-screenshot-or-record-your-screen-on-surface?ref=snagitpro.com). It covers Surface Pro, Laptop, Go, Studio and Book. The Surface 3 and Surface Pro 3 combination comes from Microsoft's [2015 guide to screenshots on Windows 10 Surface devices](https://blogs.windows.com/devices/2015/11/16/how-to-take-a-screenshot-on-your-windows-10-surface-device/?ref=snagitpro.com), because the current page no longer lists those models. ## Screenshots with a Surface keyboard or Type Cover With a keyboard attached, a Surface behaves like any Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC. The Surface-specific part is the keys themselves, so check the next two sections if you can't find PrtScn. ### Windows + Shift + S or the Snipping key: pick an area Both open the snipping bar. Choose rectangle, window, full screen or freeform, then drag or click. The capture goes to the clipboard, ready to paste into a message or document. On Windows 11, the [Snipping Tool also saves each snip automatically](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/use-snipping-tool-to-capture-screenshots?ref=snagitpro.com) to your Screenshots folder, and you can change that under See More → Settings in the app. My list of [Snipping Tool keyboard shortcuts](https://snagitpro.com/snipping-tool-keyboard-shortcuts/) covers the rest of the bar, including the delay. ### Windows + PrtScn or Windows + Snipping key: save a file When I just want a file, with no snipping bar and no pasting, this is the one I'd use. Microsoft lists both versions for Surface keyboards, and the whole screen goes straight into **Pictures → Screenshots**. ### PrtScn on its own On Windows 11, PrtScn now opens screen snipping by default, the same bar as Windows + Shift + S. Microsoft's [Windows keyboard shortcuts list](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcuts-in-windows-dcc61a57-8ff0-cffe-9796-cb9706c75eec?ref=snagitpro.com) explains how to turn that off: go to **Start → Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard** and switch off **Use the Print Screen button to open screen snipping**. On Windows 10, PrtScn copies the whole screen to the clipboard, and the toggle under Ease of Access → Keyboard does the opposite job. ### Just one window: Alt + PrtScn or Fn + Alt + Spacebar **Alt + PrtScn** copies only the active window. Microsoft's Surface page also gives **Fn + Alt + Spacebar** for the same result on Surface keyboards. Neither saves a file, so paste with **Ctrl + V** before you copy anything else. ### Record a clip: Windows + Shift + R On Windows 11 this opens the Snipping Tool overlay for a video clip instead of a still image. Microsoft points Windows 10 users to Clipchamp for screen recording instead. Drag over the area you want, select **Start**, then select **Stop** when you're done. Microsoft's [Snipping Tool guide](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/learning-center/how-to-use-snipping-tool-on-windows-screenshots-shortcuts-and-screen-recordings?ref=snagitpro.com) says the video saves automatically to **Videos > Screen Recordings**, and the microphone toggle in the same bar adds a voiceover. To record a game or one app, press **Windows + Alt + R** to start and stop an Xbox Game Bar clip, which lands in **Videos > Captures** as an MP4\. I'd use the Snipping Tool for a how-to clip, because you choose the exact area, while Game Bar records the game or app you're in. ## Which Surface keyboards have a Snipping key The Snipping key is the most useful key on a recent Surface keyboard, and nobody tells you which keyboards have it. Microsoft's [guide to Surface Pro Keyboards and Type Covers](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/accessories/cover-keyboard/learn-more-about-surface-pro-keyboards-and-type-covers?ref=snagitpro.com) lists it on these: - **Surface Pro 12-inch (1st Edition) Keyboard**, for the 12-inch Surface Pro. - **Surface Pro 13-inch Keyboard** and the **13-inch Keyboard with pen storage**, which fit Surface Pro 8 and later 13-inch models and the Surface Pro X. - **Surface Pro 13-inch Flex Keyboard**, the one you can also detach and use as a wireless Bluetooth keyboard. Surface Studio 2+ ships with the Microsoft Surface Keyboard, a separate Bluetooth keyboard. Microsoft's [Surface Keyboard special keys page](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/accessories/mouse-keyboard/use-the-special-keys-on-surface-keyboard?ref=snagitpro.com) says it has a key that opens Snipping Tool and takes a screenshot. The same Microsoft guide draws the line between generations. Surface Pro Keyboards fit Surface Pro 8 and later, while Type Covers fit Surface Pro 7+ and earlier, and Surface Go has its own Type Covers. Microsoft's feature lists for the Signature Keyboard and the Type Covers don't mention a Snipping key. If yours doesn't have one, Windows + Shift + S does the same job. ## No PrtScn key? Use the Fn combinations If you can't find PrtScn on your keyboard, Microsoft gives Surface owners two Fn combinations: - **Fn + Spacebar** opens Windows screen snip, so you can capture a window or part of the screen. - **Fn + Alt + Spacebar** puts a screenshot of the active window on the clipboard. Microsoft's general [Print Screen shortcut page](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcut-for-print-screen-601210c0-b3a9-7b58-bc40-bae4dcf5f108?ref=snagitpro.com) adds **Fn + Windows + Space Bar** for devices without a PrtScn button. It saves the screenshot to Pictures → Screenshots, but whether it works depends on your hardware. And Windows + Shift + S never needs PrtScn at all, which is why I treat it as the default on any Surface. ## Surface Laptop: no button shortcut, and maybe no Print Screen label A Surface Laptop has no Power + Volume Up shortcut. Microsoft's Surface page says plainly that the shortcut doesn't work on a Surface Laptop, so ignore any guide that lists Surface Laptop next to that combination. Use Windows + Shift + S, or Windows + PrtScn if your keyboard has the key. The Surface Laptop (7th Edition) causes the most questions. Its [fact sheet](https://www.microsoft.com/content/dam/microsoft/final/en-us/microsoft-product-and-services/surface/surface-laptop/surface-laptop-7th-edition/MSFT-Microsoft-Surface-Laptop-7th-Edition-Fact-Sheet.pdf?ref=snagitpro.com) lists a full row of F1–F12 keys, but in a [Microsoft Q&A thread about the Laptop 7](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/2297554/screenshots-are-complicated?ref=snagitpro.com) the owner says there's no Print Screen button. The accepted answers say F8 works as an unlabeled Print Screen key, and one describes pressing **Windows + F8** and then pasting with **Ctrl + V**. The answers disagree about whether Fn needs to be on, so if you try F8, try it both ways. Microsoft's own support pages don't document F8, so I'd treat it as a shortcut owners found, not an official one. If it doesn't respond, Windows + Shift + S always will. ## The Fn light changes what the top row does On Surface keyboards and Type Covers, the top row does double duty. Microsoft's [special keys and function keys guide](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/accessories/cover-keyboard/special-keys-and-function-keys-for-surface-keyboards-or-type-covers?ref=snagitpro.com) explains that the keys perform their special actions until you press **Fn**, then work as F1 to F12\. Pressing Fn again turns them back and switches the LED off. So if a top-row key does something unexpected, look at the Fn light before deciding the shortcut is broken. On the Studio 2+ Surface Keyboard, a light on the Fn key shows that the function keys are locked in function mode. Some newer models let you change the top row for good. Microsoft lists Surface Pro 8 and later models, Surface Laptop 6 for Business, the Surface Laptop 7th and 8th Editions and a few business variants. On those, open the **Surface** app, select the keyboard (or the Surface Laptop) at the bottom, and choose **Customize keyboard**. If the option is missing on a supported model, Microsoft says to install the latest Surface updates and update the Surface app to version 76.2010.145.0 or later. ## Screenshot on a Surface without a keyboard This is the question people ask most about the Surface Pro: what to do when the keyboard is folded back, detached or left at home. ### The buttons on a Surface Pro, Go or Book Press and hold **Power**, then press **Volume Up**. According to Microsoft's Surface page, the screenshot saves automatically to Pictures → Screenshots, the same as Windows + PrtScn. You'll find older advice, including Microsoft's own 2015 post for the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book, that says to press **Power + Volume Down**. Follow the current page instead. Microsoft's [hardware button behavior table](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/gpiobtn/button-behavior?ref=snagitpro.com) shows that on devices built to the Windows 10 button layout, the layout that makes Power + Volume Up a screenshot, Power + Volume Down opens the Ctrl + Alt + Del screen. The same table explains the usual miss. Power held on its own opens the shutdown screen, and a long hold forces a hard shutdown, so press Volume Up as soon as Power is down, then let go of both. If the shutdown screen appears instead of a screenshot, Power was held too long before Volume Up. ### Surface 3 and Surface Pro 3 These older models have a Windows button on the front of the screen. Hold it and press **Volume Down**. That's the Start + Volume Down screenshot in the same Microsoft button table, and the 2015 guide says the image goes to the Screenshots folder in Pictures. ### With a Surface Pen The pen's top button only works once the pen is paired over Bluetooth. Microsoft's [Surface Pen guide](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/accessories/pen/how-to-use-your-surface-pen?ref=snagitpro.com) walks through it: 1. On Windows 11, go to **Start → Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Add device → Bluetooth**. 2. Hold the pen's top button for 5–7 seconds, until the LED flashes white. 3. Select the pen in the list to pair it. After that, double-clicking the top button opens the snipping app (Microsoft's pen guide lists it as Snip & Sketch). It's a shortcut you can change: open **Start → Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Pen & Windows Ink**. On Windows 11 there's another route through the pen menu, which includes Snipping Tool by default, according to Microsoft's guide to [using a pen with Windows](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/input-devices/use-a-pen-with-windows?ref=snagitpro.com). If the pen menu icon isn't on your taskbar, turn it on in the taskbar settings. ### Touch only With no keyboard and no pen, open **Start**, search for **Snipping Tool** and open it. Set a delay before you capture, which gives you time to get the screen ready after you tap. My [Snipping Tool walkthrough for Windows 11](https://snagitpro.com/how-to-use-snipping-tool-windows-11/) covers the modes and the delay. If you'd rather press PrtScn, turn on the On-Screen Keyboard under **Start > Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard**. Microsoft's [On-Screen Keyboard guide](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows/use-the-on-screen-keyboard-osk-to-type?ref=snagitpro.com) says it shows all the standard keys, and an [answer on Microsoft Q&A](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3973116/how-to-take-a-screenshot-directly-without-the-snipping-tool?ref=snagitpro.com) notes that PrtScn is one of them, so you can tap it instead of a physical key. I'd still pin Snipping Tool to the taskbar for tablet use, because the On-Screen Keyboard sits on top of the screen you're trying to capture. ## Where Surface screenshots are saved - **Windows + PrtScn, Windows + Snipping key, Power + Volume Up, Fn + Windows + Space:** Pictures → Screenshots. - **Windows + Shift + S, the Snipping key, Fn + Spacebar, and PrtScn on Windows 11:** the clipboard. On Windows 11 the Snipping Tool also saves a copy in Screenshots while auto-save is on. - **Alt + PrtScn, Fn + Alt + Spacebar, and PrtScn on Windows 10:** the clipboard only. - **Windows + Alt + PrtScn in a game:** Xbox Game Bar saves a PNG to the Captures folder under Videos, according to Microsoft's [Game Bar guide](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows/use-a-screen-reader-to-record-your-screen-with-xbox-game-bar?ref=snagitpro.com). - Windows + Shift + R or the Snipping Tool video button: Videos → Screen Recordings. Windows + Alt + R game clips: Videos → Captures, as MP4 files. - **Surface Duo:** the Screenshots folder in Photos or Google Photos. OneDrive users have one more thing to know. Microsoft has [removed the separate "Save screenshots to OneDrive" setting](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/save-screenshots-to-onedrive-automatically-d04df71c-1cb0-4ad6-9f9c-b08494d79d6a?ref=snagitpro.com). Screenshots are backed up only when your Pictures folder is part of OneDrive. My guide to [where screenshots go on Windows 11](https://snagitpro.com/where-do-screenshots-go-windows-11/) traces every route, and the fixes for [screenshots that aren't saving](https://snagitpro.com/screenshots-not-saving-windows/) cover a Screenshots folder that stays empty. ## When a Surface screenshot doesn't work Go through these in order before you reinstall anything: 1. **Check the device.** On a Surface Laptop the button combination simply isn't supported, so use the keyboard. 2. **Check the Fn light.** If it's on, the top row is sending F1–F12 instead of its special keys. Press Fn once and try again. 3. **Check for a paste.** Open Paint and press Ctrl + V. Several of these shortcuts copy without saving a file, so the image may already be on the clipboard. 4. **Check who owns PrtScn.** TechSmith's [Print Screen hotkey article](https://support.techsmith.com/hc/en-us/articles/203731428-Snagit-Print-Screen-Hotkey-Not-Working?ref=snagitpro.com) notes that other programs can take the key, OneDrive and Dropbox most often, and that Windows 11 can bind it to the Snipping Tool. 5. **Check the keyboard itself.** If no keys respond, Microsoft's [Surface Pro keyboard troubleshooting steps](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/accessories/cover-keyboard/troubleshoot-surface-pro-keyboard-or-type-cover?ref=snagitpro.com) run in this order: install updates, detach the keyboard or Type Cover, force a restart, reattach it, and confirm it connects. The detach steps apply to Surface Pro and Surface Go. 6. **Check the result.** A capture that comes out black is a separate problem, with its own [fixes for black screenshots](https://snagitpro.com/black-screenshot-fix/). If the key is still dead after that, my [Print Screen troubleshooting guide](https://snagitpro.com/print-screen-not-working/) goes deeper. There are also separate pages for a [Snipping Tool that won't open](https://snagitpro.com/snipping-tool-not-working/) and for [screenshots failing in general](https://snagitpro.com/screenshot-not-working/). ## Snagit on a Surface Snagit runs on Windows Surface devices, but which processor yours has makes a difference. The Surface Laptop (7th Edition), for example, uses Snapdragon X processors. TechSmith's [ARM compatibility article](https://support.techsmith.com/hc/en-us/articles/27938424236685-Snagit-ARM-Compatibility-and-Emulation-Details?ref=snagitpro.com) says Snagit runs on Windows 11 ARM devices through x64 emulation, that there are no plans for a native ARM version, and that the printer driver isn't compatible. The current requirements call for Windows 11 on ARM version 23H2 or later. My [Snagit system requirements](https://snagitpro.com/snagit-system-requirements/) page has the full list. The other Surface catch is the hotkey. Snagit likes to use PrtScn, but Windows 11 may claim that key for screen snipping, and some newer Surface keyboards rely on the Snipping key or have no labeled PrtScn at all. TechSmith says it released a fix for the Windows 11 binding in Snagit 2023.2.1\. The [Snagit Print Screen setup guide](https://snagitpro.com/snagit-print-screen-default/) shows how to hand the key to Snagit, or how to pick a different shortcut if your keyboard doesn't have one. For a quick capture, Windows + Shift + S is all you need. Snagit earns its place when you capture long pages with [scrolling capture](https://snagitpro.com/snagit-scrolling-capture/), add arrows and steps (see [annotating a screenshot](https://snagitpro.com/how-to-annotate-a-screenshot/)), or need to [redact personal information](https://snagitpro.com/redact-personal-information-screenshot/) before you send an image. If you're comparing options, the roundup of [screenshot software for Windows](https://snagitpro.com/best-screenshot-software-windows/) puts Snagit next to the free tools.